The full program for the 2016 District Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses is now available, and it may prove to be an extremely memorable event, though perhaps not for the reasons the Organisation intended.

It is important to keep in mind, before we discuss the specifics of the program, that the District Conventions often act very much as a barometer for the overall concerns and general state of health for Watchtower worldwide. In years when there is no specific pressing worldwide need, the convention may be a “general interest” mix of subjects all loosely connected by an overall theme.

But in years when a specific need or concern is affecting the worldwide organisation, we often see the Convention focused upon a specific theme. For example, a convention may focus on the preaching work and full time service, if the Governing Body feel there is a specific need in this area.

This is understandable, as a Convention allows the Governing Body three whole days to focus the minds and hearts of the Witnesses on whatever is considered to be the chief matter of interest at that moment.

So it is fascinating to discover that this year, the entire convention is focused upon one specific theme, and one specific theme only, as this tells us a great deal about the Governing Body’s main concern in 2016.

The theme is loyalty.

With a theme of “Remain Loyal to Jehovah”, the convention appears to focus solely around concerns over the reliability and trustworthiness of the flock. The titles of the talks are striking, and even a little disturbing. One can almost imagine them being stamped on huge Government signs in the kind of Totalitarian state that George Orwell so chillingly envisioned in his novel 1984. Imagine if you will, shuffling along in the rain, in a grey cityscape, whilst above you in neon letters loom commands such as:

Maintain Loyalty in Thought!

Loyal Love is BETTER than Life!

Maintain Loyalty in Word!

Freedom is Slavery!

HATE What Jehovah HATES!

Do Not Imitate DISLOYAL Ones!

Thoughtcrime IS Death!

Jehovah Deserves UNDIVIDED Loyalty!

Okay, hands up, some of those sentences are not talk titles from the convention, they are slogans used by the Totalitarian government in 1984, but if you did not already know this, you might be hard pressed to guess exactly which was which.

This controlling demand for loyalty goes on and on throughout the program, but in some ways, this isn’t even the most disturbing aspect of the planned material.

That privilege is reserved for a Friday afternoon talk that is part of a symposium entitled “Loyally Uphold Jehovah’s Judgements.”

The title of the talk?

“Shun Unrepentant Wrongdoers”

Shunning: Is Watchtower finally coming clean?

Shunning is one of the most controversial practices currently employed by Watchtower. Wehavecoveredthepolicyand its devastating effects many times here on JW Survey, but to cut to the chase for those who may not be familiar with the policy, it boils down to this.

If a baptised Jehovah’s Witness decides to leave the religion for any reason, all other Jehovah’s Witnesses will be required to pretend that person no longer exists. And if they disobey the shunning order, they too will be shunned.

As a result families are split apart, long term friends vanish overnight, grandchildren have never met their grandparents, parents do not speak with their children, and many Witnesses remain as Witnesses not out of devotion to the religion, but because of fear of what will happen if they leave.

F70 The Jehovah’s Witness organisation’s policy of requiring its adherents to actively shun those who leave the organisation

a) makes it extremely difficult for someone to leave the organisation

b) is cruel on those who leave and on their friends and family who remain behind

c is particularly cruelon those who have suffered child sexual abuse in the organisation and who wish to leave because they feel that their complaints about it have not been adequately dealt with

d) is not apparently justified by the Scriptures which are cited in support of it

e) is adopted and enforced in order to prevent people from leaving the organisation and thereby to maintain its membership, and

f) is in conflict with the organisation’s professed support for freedom of religious choice and the belief that Jehovah God is a compassionate God who recognises the worth and dignity of all human beings.

Yet crucially, perhaps recognising the policy to be cruel, difficult to defend, and a potential PR disaster, Watchtower frequently tries to misrepresent their shunning practice.

For a start, they usually refer to the practice as Disfellowshipping (for one who is involuntarily removed from the congregation for transgressing upon one of a growing number of Watchtower’s intrusive and controlling edicts) or Disassociation (for one who chooses to remove themselves). By changing the name of the practice, Watchtower is clearly trying to lessen the stigma attached to it, in much the same way that the cult of Scientology refers to their shunning orders as “Disconnection,” and the shunned as “Suppressive Persons.”

Therefore, to see a talk at an international district convention open to the public so blatantly champion the policy, to the extent that they even dispense with the pseudo-terms “disfellowshipping” and “disassociation”, and directly use the word “shun” appears to be a significant step up in rhetoric. The fact that it is then followed by a talk entitled “Be Forgiving” is so incongruous that it demonstrates how those who organised the schedule are either utterly oblivious to taste and decency, or have a very dark sense of humour.

Are the Governing Body threatening Jehovah’s Witnesses?

The overall message of the convention appears to be “You’d better remain loyal if you know what’s good for you,” with the overt brandishing of the cruel and inhumane shunning sanction as a threat of what is in store for the “disloyal.”

It would appear that any Jehovah’s Witness who may have become increasingly concerned that their organisation was not the loving brotherhood they once assumed, but was rather an increasingly controlling, harsh and unloving entity have good reason to be afraid.

195 Responses to Controversial 2016 District Convention Program: Be Loyal or be shunned!

Calls for loyalty ! What blatant hypocrisy. I wonder
what the hundreds of faithful Bethel workers and
S,Pioneers now think of that, having been dismissed
at short notice and without any support, financial
or otherwise, many after years of loyal service.

In it, “I wrote If a baptised Jehovah’s Witness decides to leave the religion for any reason, all other Jehovah’s Witnesses will be required to pretend that person no longer exists. And if they disobey the shunning order, they too will be shunned.”

A few people have (in a very good natured and constructive way) challenged this sentence on the grounds that they have faded away from Watchtower but are not being shunned by their family and some of the JW friends still talk to them to some degree.

Whilst I agree that this situation is possible, and understand and appreciate the feedback from our valued readers, I would point out two things:

-If one is faded, one is not considered to have “left” in Watchtowers eyes. They are simply “inactive”, even if they have faded for 20 years and the religion is no more than a distant memory to them.

-If a fader is found to be violating Watchtowers laws, ie. celebrating Christmas or living with a boyfriend, they might still be subject to judicial action, even if their fade started years ago. This has been reported to happen by many, many faders and was confirmed at the Royal Commission by Geoffrey Jackson. One cannot truly say they have “left” in the eyes of Watchtower if Watchtower is still seeking to apply their rules in that person’s life. Watchtower is even known to track such ones down after a number of years and attempt to do this.

-Thus, whilst the reality is that many faders have indeed “left” to all intents and purposes, and some even are able to do so without family shunning, in the eyes of Watchtower, the only way one can officially leave is via disfellowshipping or disassociation, both of which carry the penalty of shunning.

-This is important to understand as Watchtower frequently and dishonestly tries to give the impression in court and in the media that one can “fade” as a way of leaving with no consequence. This dishonesty must be challenged and made very clear so as to not leave Watchtower this loophole as the issue becomes increasingly significant in legal and media issues over the coming couple of years.

Can confirm. I had a 25+ year fade going. Over the years I done many things an active witness would be DFed for. It wasn’t until a few years ago that my mother shunned me citing celebrating holidays as my offense. I don’t know if they are cracking down or my mom is getting even more looney, but yeah; a string of Christmas lights was all it took.

As the number of inactive, disfellowshipped and disassociated witnesses grows and congregations are left with a dwindling number of active dubs, most of whom are elderly, you have to wonder who is really being shunned? If a shrinking number of active witnesses are left behind by a growing number of ex-dubs then are those who are left behind effectively shunning themselves?

An elder confirmed this with great joy to me one time. We were out in service and he was actually gloating as we sat waiting in the car, that a witness was tracked down to ‘that house over there’. ‘We sat every day in this spot until he came home and then cornered him to say he was being df’d.’
I was disturbed about this back then. Now I find it brutal and disgusting.

I stopped going 12 years ago and counting – faded not dfed or dissociated – my JW family would still see me though not as much, however 12 years down the line I recently got a message from my sister (just last week) saying that unless I went back to ‘The Truth’/JW’s she (and her children) would no longer be seeing me anymore. She ended the message with Loads of love XXXX just twisting the knife a little.

It is a sick and twisted cult that uses coercion and manipulation to control people and then calls it an act of love. It is much like the abusive spouse or parent who claims he does everything out of love.

I thought God only wanted servants who worshipped him out of love? I thought that it was faith and not empty works that saved Christians? Apparently not. If we can coerce you into “proper” worship of God then that’s apparently enough. Doesn’t matter how you feel or what is in your heart.

That’s why I choose not to have much to do with my witness relatives. I have no respect for them or their tactics and refuse to be exposed to their twisted behavior.

First , I have noted how far the organization has deviated from Christian theology. Over the years there has been less emphasis on Jesus, and more on the overbearing name Jehovah . Now you have the GB playing god by using the name Jehovah to put fear mongering , the rule of authoritarian men. some of the convention talks are really hate speech directed at the world . Slamming former members as apostates.

@mars. I noticed the same thing Mars. There is almost no mention of Jesus in some articles and overwhelmingly overusing the name of Jehovah. When I read the Christian scriptures even if they are quoting from the Hebrew portion of the Bible and using the name Jehovah the Greek scriptures rarely use the name Jehovah and overwhelmingly use the Name and refer and speak Of Jesus.I actually noticed this years ago when I was an active JW but it seems to have even gotten worse.

I know that many of the commenters here have read Orwell’s 1984 and see many correlations to the Watchtower Society. So here’s a thought I’d appreciate some feedback on: the way the organization over uses the name Jehovah and indicates his watchfulness and direction in all matters, do you think they have created something on par to Big Brother in 1984?

WS, this state existed prior to our current heightened awareness of the “watchful eye”. As far back as the 1970’s, the Watchtower was touting “squealing” on wrongdoers who may have been living double-lives that elders were not aware, so that J* could cleanse the organization.

The humorous, or sad, thing–they insist on using a typographical-error as the Divine moniker.

This shift in doctrine focus–in the late 80’s and early 90’s, the Watchtower played up its belief in Jesus and pulled in Jesus as the masthead articles–we’re observing has them swing back to Rutherford / Jaracz roots with J* as lead.

A strong indicator last GB to pass away was probably a moderating voice against the herd [no pun] of hardline conservatives. Not too far-fetched since that GB passed with a brain stroke which happens with age, but also possibly a sign of high stress possibly caused by battle fatigue and conflict. Also a number of competing evangelical denominations are using J*, even if not pervasively throughout their translation.

These would be the same hardliners who reached out to be “friends” of Swaggert when the SCOTUS issued a mandate regarding profits from literature “sales”. And, who are probably working hand-in-hand with groups like AFA, Family First, Franklin Graham and conservative evangelical groups to combat the “left-wing” liberal notions of family and God.

If one side felt emboldened to sign up for UN NGO, the other side is brazen enough to be activists and advocates of morality issues that are sharing political stage.

J.W belief started off with a correct view of God’s dealings with the Jews. (Divine Plan of the Ages, 1886.) However, a complete about face took place, after WW2. The 1946 edition of ‘Let God Be True’ made quite definite predictions that the Jews would never be regathered to their own land (pg. 209) Unfortunately for the J.W.’s the Jewish State was proclaimed on May 15, 1948. This edition was an embarrassment. In 1952 a ‘revised’ edition was issued, no longer with a chapter called “Regathering of the Jews – Past and Present”. It is a very unhealthy situation when the obvious teaching of scripture can be set aside by an organization.
Read the Bible for yourself!

I wonder if “unrepentant ones” includes those who disagreed that the slave have been appointed over all belongings, non use of blood fractions, oral sex being grounds for a scriptural divorce, organ transplants, pyramids, letter to Hitler, heavenly calling cessation in 1935, inoculations, 1919, 1925, 1975, 1874, 1914, 1942, Beth Serim, sheep and the goats, concealing child abusers from the proper authorities and so much more.

Here is a point to ponder that I have been thinking about for quite some time.

The JW organization “appears” to be the leaders of God’s people with all of those rules and laws that have been instituted and re-established. However, God has always been against imperfect humans ruling over his people. The Israelites wanted a human king but God did not want that for them. God allowed it because he wanted to make an example of them. God knew what the outcome would be. The vast majority of those kings were wicked and eventually because of this it led to the demise of the nation of Israel. Why then would God want imperfect men to rule over his people again today such as the governing body does? They are viewed as “Kings” by the witness community and they act as such over them. Especially now that Jesus died for us and fulfilled the mosaic law? We have to also remember that the Bible draws parallels so again because God never wanted imperfect human rulers over his people this whole organization is bound to eventually fail just like the precedent that was set with the nation of Israel.

There is so much more that can be said about this topic.
The above is much food for thought.

What the Governing Body has managed to do is interpose itself between you and the “free gift” of Jesus’ ransom sacrifice. They cunningly do this by saying “Yes, isn’t it wonderful this free gift however, you must now show your appreciation for it by proselytizing our doom’s day message from door to door in order to truly benefit from it. Oh, don’t forget to ‘place’ our literature”. A truly AMWAY like, religious, pyramidal cult with the Governing Body at the apex of the whole thing. No wonder C. T. Russell was so enamored with the Great pyramid at Giza. This maybe the first instance of a pyramid scheme ever! 🙂

@fullyawake. I really appreciate your analogy, and how God has shown in his written Word what He thinks of human spiritual Kings, such as the GB. One more example of the WT trying to go back to the legalistic Hebrew Scripture Law

We keep wondering the same thing..when it it our turn for a congressional inquiry, a prime time expose, a major magazine cover.. I guess we all need to put on our big pants and start suggesting topics to these ones. I get so tired of playing these scenarios out and thinking. .how am I going to do this anonymously? Time is now to take back my power..we have so much truthful ammo to share!

Matthew 18:16 But if he does not listen, take along with you one or two more, in order that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every matter may be established.

1 Corinthians 5:11 But now I am writing YOU to quit mixing in company with anyone called a brother that is a fornicator or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man… “Remove the wicked [man] from among yourselves.”

2 John 10 If anyone comes to YOU and does not bring this teaching, never receive him into YOUR homes or say a greeting to him.

2 Thessalonians 3:6 Now we are giving YOU orders, brothers, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to withdraw from every brother walking disorderly and not according to the tradition YOU received from us.

2 Thessalonians 3:14 But if anyone is not obedient to our word through this letter, keep this one marked, stop associating with him, that he may become ashamed.

Romans 16:17 Now I exhort YOU, brothers, to keep your eye on those who cause divisions and occasions for stumbling contrary to the teaching that YOU have learned, and avoid them.

Hi Johnamos

Nicely cherry-picked scriptures. There is a danger in applying 1 scripture literally without a proper context.

Remember Pauls letters are written to the congregations – not elders only. He was warning people to watch out who they associate with – no shunning is defined here in the deformed way it is practised in the JW faith.
Mat 18 – there is no Judicial committee here formed by a body of elders. Congregations were small and thus handled in a very different way. How does this relate in any way to the way a Judicial committee is run. Where here does it say you can disfellowship a person because they were repentant in a “wordly way” but not a “godly way”. Where does it say here that you ask a person how many times they had sex with another person to identify if they are really repentant. If you look at verse 22, do we apply the 77 times literally also?

1 Cor 5 – in the very next book Paul says to welcome him back in. Again in no way supports how we handle cases like these and how we treat “sinners”.

2 John – is talking about the anti-christ not other sins. Of course we would not want to associate with them, but we can still treat another human with dignity. Again no judicial process is here mentioned.

2 Thess 3 – yes it is obvious that if a friend gets drunk and starts smashing your house you would remove him right? Same applies here – but notice vs 15 – And yet do not consider him an enemy, but continue admonishing him as a brother – hmmm – can’t see shunning here either?

Rom 16 – yes if you had a group of any sort meet at your house and you had a person causing troubles and divisions you would avoid them also. But avoiding is not shunning. No elders are involved, no committees, etc.

So far I cannot see proper scriptural support for the way JW’s handle committee cases.

I understand the need to watch out for people who could influence you but that applies to our general daily lives. You could apply that to a circle of friends.

In his book: IN SEARCH OF CHRISTIAN FREEDOM, ex-GB member the late Ray Franz embarks on a very good discussion about the origin and validity of the JW’s shunning practice and the misuse of dispellowshipping.

Do you know what the book: IN SEARCH OF CHRISTIAN FREEDOM written by ex-Governing Body member the late Raymond Franz is about? Have you ever read it? For that matter, do you know who Raymond Franz was and what his objective was in writing this book and his other book: CRISIS OF CONSCIENCE?

Based on my reading of these books, I see where Raymond Franz set out to expose/debunk/refute/counter the teachings and practices of the JWs which, as far as I know is also the objective of this website.

I don’t know if you have read many of the articles on this site, but if you did, you would have noticed that these books by Raymond Franz have been referenced and quoted from by some of the articles produced by this website.

I don’t believe enuffsenuff was evangelizing; quoting scripture is often done by skeptics and atheists as proof of the illogic and mythology of the Bible. Here he is outlining why he disagrees with shunning and is not out to convert anyone.

Hi there.
I’m one of the editors here at JW Survey. I’m a little confused by your request. This site discusses Jehovah’s Witnesses and Russell was their founder, so his image seems very appropriate for the site.
Could you elaborate a little more on the reasons for your request?

Hi Covert Fade. Pastor Russell was the founder of the WTBTS and the “followers”were known then as Bible Students.After his death in 1916 a struggle for leadership ensued and JF Rutherfraud [sorry I meant to type Rutherford lol] took control of the reigns and between 1916 and circa 1929 he managed to change virtually all of Russel’s understandings of Scripture even though he promised not to change anything. A major opponent of Rutherfraud was Paul S L Johnson whom Rutherfraud termed “that Jew” as he was a Jewish convert. Whenever Rutherfraud changed something, Johnson reminded him that the “new truth” now contradicted another one of their current beliefs which eventually led Rutherfraud into a corner.

By 1931 when they took the name Jehovah’s witnesses, virtually all were there, were converts during the reign of Rutherfraud. Very few [except those in leadership positions] were original Bible Students as they totally rejected the changes made by someone they considered a fraud. During this period of time, many of the “members” were Rutherfraudites and not what many term “Russelites”. Pastor Russell founded the Bible Student movement and the local study groups were independent from each other. The WTBTS was only a publishing company which published Russell’s works. Russell’s will was ignored by Rutherfraud. Russell was not the founder of the JW’s, Rutherfraud was.

It’s certainly true that Rutherford is responsible for much of what became WT theology and practice as you state, however I think it’s still defensible to state that the religion can trace it’s origins back to the Bible Students Movement Russell started.

I’m more curious as to the reasons why someone would feel so strongly about it that they demand we remove Russell’s picture from the website.

We are well aware of the history of the Jehovah’s Witness organization, as well as the various divisions and breakaway groups which left following the death or Charles Russell in 1916. However the founder of what ultimately became the JW organization was indeed Charles Taze Russell. There was a significant overlap in membership from the Russell to the Rutherford era which included (as you admitted) many of the men in leadership roles, such as A.H. Macmillan. Even Frederick W Franz was a devoted bible student who personally met Russell for the first time in Ohio in 1914 at Russell’s showing of the Photo Drama of Creation. Franz later became the president of the Watchtower Society after spending his entire life serving side by side with Rutherford as well as Nathan Knorr.

In your comment, you used the term “Rutherfraud” 9 different times, which tells me that you have some personal bias against this man in comparison with Charles Russell. This is not exactly objective, since you could easily make the argument that Russell himself was a fraud on multiple counts. Russell was an apostate of the Presbyterian faith, and had numerous enemies who debated him or doctrinal issues frequently. Russell was also the subject of controversy in his personal marriage as well as his very well known and sketch business dealings, from the sale of properties to “miracle wheat” and beyond.

At the end of the day, it is a well established fact that the Jehovah’s Witness organization would not exist in its current form without the genesis of Charles Russell and his own unique teachings which gained momentum through a very well publicized series of books, the Watchtower magazine, the Photo Drama, and scores of other writings, some of which were published in newspapers around the US and globally.

While we certainly agree that the name “Jehovah’s Witnesses” was generated during the presidency of Rutherford, this does not negate the fact that Russell’s work was and still is the root of this fundamentalist movement.

Like Julia I completed my Master’s degree by researching into the Witnesses, as well as using my past experience. I agree with Covert that it is the second proposition that is behind the convention, namely one of retention. As with their brochure ‘Return to Jehovah’, it is an all-out effort to win back those who have left who still perhaps have family members in the organisation. However, there is still an appeal to those in other (Christian) religions who admire the zeal of the Witnesses and are possibly attracted to their slick approach. Not everyone is as informed as the contributors to JW survey and it is ignorance that is the underlying success story behind the Watchtower.

My granddaughter has just been born. she is 24 weeks and only just over 1lb. As of yet she has had no need for a blood transfusion. If she needs one to save her life I will slit my own wrists and give her my life blood. Screw loyalty to an organisation that allows child abuse to be hidden away.

Thanks hun.. The feeling of relief is unimaginable that we do not have to contend with the blood issue. They can shun me until hell freezes over. My family comes before the Borg. God is my judge, not them.

Its a strange conundrum how they leave organ transplant to a jw’s conscience(or at least they used to when i was there) but not a blood transfussion. Are they not aware that here is blood in an organ? I have two grown children.. How a parent can allow their child to die by denying them blood is to me as well horrific.

3M employs people all over the world. They produce many products for marketing. Post It is a big one. One of their concerns is Industrial Espionage, stealing ideas and selling those on the open market. It is all about Company Policy. If a Company Policy is violated by an employee, he will be fired and his desk cleaned out and escorted out of the building. He will be shunned forevermore. If he wants to work for 3M he has to obey the rules— or hit the bricks. Same is true for JW religion. No one is obligated to be a part of it. Obey the rules or he is out of here. 3M is the company. Not the employees. We can nit pick employees all day long. Same for any religion. The religion is at the top. Congregation members are like little piglets nursing the sow. They are not the religion. They are just in their own minds hanging on for dear life. If they get fired, they will be shunned because they broke Company rules, because the Company’s name is on the paycheck. They are Boss, like it or not. If they quit, it is best to keep their mouths shut and give the impression they just do not have the strength to go on. That way friends and family will have compassion as they give kind encouragement. My point is If we do not like the Program, dust our feet off and move on quietly. We do not own the Company. They are Boss. We are mere emoloyees.

@Enrico
I am not a entirely sure of the point you are trying to make. Are you saying that Watchtower is no different from 3M and therefore their shunning policy is justified? If you get fired from 3M I am sure the company doesn’t tell your spouse, children, parents, or other relatives that they cannot speak to you. Any large company cannot interfere with its employees’ personal lives. Otherwise there would be a major law suits and investigations.

Watchtower uses the guise of religious freedom to enact violations of human rights that no corporation would ever be able to engage in.

“If you get fired from 3M I am sure the company doesn’t tell your spouse, children, parents, or other relatives that they cannot speak to you.”
True, but in the WT you can’t even voluntarily leave without being shunned. This is a blatant 1 Cor. 4:6 {going beyond what is written} control policy.

My mom is a very loyal follower of the organization.. She just recently warmed back up to after finding out that I am in a lesbian relationship. I can already tell that after this summer’s convention I can say goodbye to the progress we have made. She has already told me, “Jehovah comes first.” It makes me livid that the organization puts it’s followers in this position. Loyalty to an organization over loyalty to family 🙁 it’s wrong…

would you talk to a grown man that says he is naturally attracted to little boys? Would you support that?..
Why not? after all, he has a “choice”
Life is short right? everybody is “free” to do what they please with there sexuality now a days right?.. To be happy..? where do you draw the line for unnatural behavior? No! you would not support his man…. You would not even speak to such person, you would say that is Perverse! Unnatural!.. only one action makes sense man / women, two women can’t make a baby, two men can make a baby. You have a choice to do wrong, fine.. But don’t judge the ones trying to do right. I am a worldly person just like you but I see my families faith and they are pure hard working God fearing people trying to survive this planet ruled my a spirit who is succeeding in corrupting all of gods children. I’m sorry to be so blunt, I do not have the finess that Jesus had In Speaking.

It will be interesting to read later in the year how many additional followers partook of the Bread & Wine at the 2016 Memorial out of the 12 Million who Never even report just one hour of Field Service to the Watchtower Year on Year. Just Who are these People ??? Here’s hoping an Addition 100 Thousand stepped to Eat the Bread that was offered along with the Wine! Happy Feast of Queen Esther Everyone and the Celebration of the End to the Pagan Practice of Roman-Catholic ExCommunication, Shunning and Disfellowshipping on a Worldwide Scale!

I think the GB are terrified of all the You Tube videos from so-called apostates. The true history of the JW cult is widely and freely available with a few clicks of your computer mouse. I really don’t think it’s directed at people who have left or are fading, they are gone and dead and it’s really the fear that the flock are thinking twice about the church, and may click on that forbidden website or video. I have been shunned in my home growing up with warped JW parents because I insisted on having a worldly friend and fought for each and every bit of time I got to spend with a friend after school or on weekends going horseback riding. It resulted in me getting sequestered to my room and only being called for meals or going to school. I got baptized due to threats I would be thrown out of the house. As an adult I finally was able to fade and have been shunned for many years by my sister. She is only allowed to talk about the weather and our health and nothing else. When I used to go to her house she would dive to grab JW literature off her kitchen table and stuff it in a drawer so I would not see the light of the “truth” remembering that I am satanic and must be left in the dark. It is a sad delusional display from people warped by fear and it will only get worse in my opinion. This was a good article – well written and yes, the JWs shun on many different levels and are proud of it. They had better get the cult speech in their heads and not let an independent thought slip out. They are sitting in those wood coffins called KHs terrified of death and a God that will kill them in an instant if they don’t obey the ruling class at Bethel HQ.

Interesting find in WT study article May 2016. It used to be awkward when someone was reinstated and the announcement was made. Now check out the new instructions:
“When someone is reinstated in the congregation, we have good reason to rejoice. The person will have to keep on maintaining his integrity to God, but he had to be repentant in order to be reinstated, and we are glad that he repented. Accordingly, there may well be spontaneous, dignified applause when the elders make an announcement of a reinstatement.”

How about throwing a party for someone that got reinstated?
If anyone has a problem with that just show them the account of the prodigal son where a party was thrown.

In reality most return to the WT to have their family back. That’s why members must shun disloyal members. If they didn’t most would not return. Coercion and emotional blackmail are strong tools and the GB knows it.

“If a baptised Jehovah’s Witness decides to leave the religion for any reason, all other Jehovah’s Witnesses will be required to pretend that person no longer exists. And if they disobey the shunning order, they too will be shunned.”

Baptized JWs can and do leave the organisation with no sanctions upon them or their families

The demand for loyalty does not originate with the WTS. It originates with the Almighty God of the universe.

“Technically” it is wrong? Well my friend, I think that you have answered your own debate. When you say “Technically this information is wrong” -what you are saying is that in practicality , we are completely correct.

An you know this to be true. No one leaves the Jehovah’s Witness faith without walking away from their daily friendships, social outings, going to dinner, vacationing with your JW friends, and associating with them on a daily basis. It simply does not happen. Once a person has left, even if they have just faded away and done nothing wrong, they receive a title – and that title is “inactive”. Once a person is inactive, they are spoken about as “spiritually weak” and “not good association”. No one seeks them out to go bowling, play ball or join the congregation picnic. They become a person of the “world” and if they do have any association with any JW friends, these friends are warned by elders to stay away from association with these inactive persons, until they “come back to Jehovah”. Further, if elders suspect they are involved with anything like celebrating Christmas or a birthday, they will be hounded, tracked, tagged and humiliated before the congregation with an announcement which states that they are “no longer one of Jehovah’s Witnesses” which drives the final spike in the railway which leaves friendship-town, never to return.

So – if you believe baptized JWs leave the organization with no sanctions, you are burying your head in the sand. And if you think the God of the Universe expects compliance from the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York city, you have allowed yourself to be completely deluded by a religion which has no more claim to truth than does Scientology, Mormonism, or any other faith. But I do sympathize with you, I have been there, and I finally swallowed my pride and left the organization, knowing that it was not truth I possessed, but just membership in an organization which took advantage of my youth and steered me away from the real world. I wish you the best, and hope you are able to break free also.

You have not experienced it. I stopped attending meetings 8 years ago because of a “nightmare” of discouraging experiences that even resulted in an elder being removed. Nobody cared about me after 30 years of serving the org in many ways, pioneer, move to a foreign language cong. Hosting COs in our home, husband an elder for many years. I am not df’ed, never even have been spoken to by an elder since stopping meetings, did not “disassociate” myself. If I see a JW in a restaurant that I have been friends with for over 30 years, she hides her face in her purse so she doesn’t have to say hello as I walk by. That is the reality for someone who leaves. Try it and see what happens to you 🙂 This was not instituted by Jehovah. It is man made mind control.

This entire subject is on UN- REPENTANT people, if a person is truly repentant they are forgiven are given an opportunity to explain and repent.. I have seen this several times no one is just kicked out. Unfortunately most of you have had a bad experience or have been brain washed and are bitter. Do you think jehova wants an UN-repentant person in his congregation there is a reason why all of these bitter people are not witnesses anymore.. and it’s because they love being in the world and never genuinely repented, the people in the congregation are on gods side… If you turned your back on god what makes you think they will want to associate with you.
If you were a cop and you found out that you partner on duty was involved In assisting drug operations and murderiing other police, would you want to hang out? No! He is unloyal! And especially!!… If he doesn’t care ” unrepentant”. Think people. Your not in the group anymore. Be happy.. I guess, and move along. Leave those people alone I have been studying with them for a while now and see NOTHING wrong with these servants who waist their time on people like you and me

Proverbs 20:28 “Loyal love and faithfulness safeguard the king; By loyal love he sustains his throne” NWT 2013
If that text doesn’t sound familiar, try the KJV:
“Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy.”
The Hebrew word translated here as “mercy” in the KJV is “chesed” is translated:
mercy (149x), kindness (40x), lovingkindness (30x), goodness (12x), kindly (5x), merciful (4x), favour (3x), good (1x), goodliness (1x), pity (1x), reproach (1x), wicked thing (1x)https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H2617&t=KJV
The New World Tranlation has replaced “mercy” and “kindness” with “loyal love” either in the text, or as a footnote.
This “loyal love” concept is now being exploited in an unprecedented way to manipulate the rank and file lower class (“great crowd”) workers.

All u need to do is to speak with any one of JWs and u will find out that this are intelligent group of people determined to do Gods will. An average JWs can never b manipulated by anyone not even the Governing Body. There r quite educated, as each can read, make wise reaserch and arrive at reasonable conclusions. Being a JW is a voluntary decision that parents can not even force upon their children. As for shining I can tell u that even you yourself do practice shunning as an individual. You try to shurn someone who reapeated harm or wrong u. Collective or group shurning does not make it any worse. Just as u forgives some one when the wrogn u and sincerely seek for your forgiveness, so do Jehovah our heavenly father forgive those who sincerely repent. So being a servant of the most high Jehovah is an honor that is beyond compare, that is hw JWs feel

Jehovah’s Witnesses as an organization strongly oppose higher education, as they are well aware that an educated person is not likely to fall victim to religious indoctrination and ridiculous false teachings which oppose the very foundations of modern science. JWs still teach that Adam was created in 4026 BCE, and that a global flood occurred in 2370 BCE. Both of these claims are spectacularly inaccurate, yet millions of uneducated Witnesses accept such teachings.

They accept them, not because they are true, or because they have researched the facts, but because they have been indoctrinated. The core of Jehovah’s Witnesses are those born into this religion and subjected to such teachings at an early age. For those who come into the organization later in life, they do so not because they have examined all of the evidence, but because they feel the need for God, for religion, and for a sense of community.

Witnesses only read their own literature and do not stray outside of the Watchtower, the Awake, and Watchtower publications. They trust the Governing Body completely and are indeed manipulated by these men. These men themselves were manipulated, many of them baptized at an extremely young age – such as Geoffrey Jackson.

Don’t fool yourself into believing that being a JW in really a voluntary decision, particularly for those who inherited this religion. They are fully indoctrinated and locked in by the frightening belief that Armageddon will soon wipe out everyone who is not on “Jehovah’s side.”

I wake up every morning praying to my God to strengthen Dr.Eziza for his good works that he is doing around the world. I lost my lover some months back but thanks to Dr.Eziza for helping me to get her back within 48 hours. Contact Dr.Eziza on [email protected] or call +2348058176289. Thank you Dr.Eziza for the help you render me..

Of all the cruel things to do to those that are old and no longer any use to the gv. There are cases of some older brothers and sisters with no money to travel back to their kin folk and sre seen hitchhiking out on these dangerous highways. Those cheap bastards are as loving as Hitler was. They have no feelings for no one-And they run the world down.What a bunch of crooks and evil men. If they are reps of God and God approves of them then I question my love for God. So this tells me that the wt is a liar and never was a channel of God. They are a wicked evil book publishing company riding on a religious front. And thes 8 million zombies believe this bull shit.That says nothing good about none of the zombies. Imagine your father up in age and out on a highway hitchhiking? This is a disgrace.May those wt leaders rot in hell if there is one.

Does not anyone realize that the only issue here is that no one is reading the message.?.. “unrepentant wrong doing” again I must repeat to make this point clear.. “Unrepentant” it does not say, “repentant”. All you have to do is repent..! That’s it.. What’s all this talk about families being separated and friends not talking anymore. All you have to do is repent, meaning genuinely feel regret on your wrong doings. That’s it people, My brother was disfellowship when he got lost in this lost world and did worldly things yet he genuinely wanted to come back and he was reunited to his brothers and faith to the almighty jehovah God and our savior Jesus Christ. There is a scripture where Jehovah invites his sheep that get lost to come back , there isn’t a permenant shunning unless the person is UNrepentant. If your child was murdered I don’t think that you would gladly forgive but if that person was genuinely regretful as a God fearing person you may feel some forgiveness but if the person threatens to kill your other child do you think you will forgive him? No… Of course not he is not repentant. Also whoever posted that the organization will fall, sorry to disappoint you but it is the strongest organization in the world backed by their God and the numbers are real, the faith is strong. I genuinely hope that all of you find God and focuse more on your faith rather than critisizing a group of people that only want to share the good news. Note: I am not a baptized witness I am just a bible student learning and who has jw family members.

Choosing to leave the WT organization for matters of conscience is not wrongdoing. WT shunning is an organizational edict for reasons far beyond any scriptural basis. Painting a person who can’t quit smoking with the same brush as a murderer is illogical and ridiculous. How many people did Jesus shun? Was the prodigal son shunned? Where is shunning mandated in the Bible?

@Hugo – Remember that God is the one that grants repentance and is the final judge, not JW.org. Paul mentioned that he and his fellows where not masters over the individual follower’s faith. It is presumptuous on the part of JW.org to assume they can grant repentance based on their opinion of a person heart and genuineness of repentance, the Bible says only God can read a person’s heart not man. Worse still is that they use this as a psychological to break families up.
Even if you sincerely repent in prayer to God as MANY HAVE there is NO way to continue a normal relationship with your JW family unless you return to JW.org.
This is otherwise known as BLACKMAIL!
Peace to you friend, think before your COMMIT to this organisation!

Hugo…..who determines if a wrong doer is “Unrepentant” or “Repentant”? Three imperfect men my friend. So if you believe that a loving god is leaving the life in the hands of imperfect men then you are just as stupid as the GB. I have seen instances where someone in not reinstated because of personal vendettas. I served as an Elder for 14 years and was a member of many reinstatement hearings. If we did not like the person for any reason guess what? He can repent until the cows come home we will not reinstate him/her. I am so happy I faded away.

When one of my family members was disfellowshipped, one of the elders on his committee was himself carrying on a 5-year long adulterous affair. He got a slap on the wrist and was back in after a short time, while they kept my family member out for years for a much lesser offense. Putting your faith in these clowns is just plain stupid!

I too knew of a member on a committee which disfellowshipped someone and within a few months it was discovered that the elder was having an adulterous affair for which he too was disfellowshipped. What surprised me was that the decision which that committee made was still held. Led by holy spirit? I found it disgusting.

Based on my experience, these situations occur more than most folks in the org would think or like to believe. It actually is a common effect that occurs in such high control groups that empowers leaders such as these. They begin to believe that they are above the law, so to speak. I can think of numerous elders who were fornicators, adulterers, wife-beaters, abusive to their families, revilers…boy that list looks somewhat familiar!

Great comments Hugo. I wish you well and hope to call you my brother. Can evrybody please remember that that JW’s are organized by imperfect men. They are going to make mistakes. And SOME corrupt individiuals will abuse their power and maybe convince others to do the same. But that is not to say that the organization as a whole does not have Gods blessing upon it. There is no other explaination for the things it is achieving on a worldwide scale. It is being backed by and directed by a higher power. Surely all the good it accomplishes over shadows the actions of certain individuals who are either misguided or just down right corrupt! But the positive changes that this organization has made to so many lives and the comfort that the hope and support brings are all worth it. Surely those seeking real truth can see this and those that are expecting a true religion to be perfect at all times are sadly naive and possibly bitter about the way they have been dealt with by imperfect humans. But please have faith, God knows evryones hearts and sees all injustice. When the time comes, evryone will get what they deserve, good or bad.

The problem is twofold. Firstly many of the doctrinal claims made by Watchtower simply do not stand up to scrutiny. Research the date of 607BCE as the fall of the Jerusalem for example, and you will see that this pivotal date used to calculate the key Watchtower Doctrine of the 1914 enthronement of Christ has no archaeological support whatsoever, and in fact thousands of archaeological records definitively point to 587 BCE as the correct date. In fact, most of the key teachings of Watchtower fail to stand up to deep scrutiny.

The second problem is that the Watchtower organisation has indeed caused terrible harm across the world. For example, The Australian Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse found that Watchtowers policies for dealing with sex abuse had resulted in over 1006 JW child abusers not being reported to the police since 1950 in Australia alone. That’s before we even discuss the blood policy, which upon examination has no real scriptural support and has killed many Witnesses since it’s introduction. There were not the actions of one or two imperfect men; these were the chosen policies of the entire Watchtower organisation, and they have resulted in rape, suicide, misery and in some cases death.

I invite you to research the subjects we discuss on this website in closer detail. Read Watchtower’s side of the story, and then read jwfacts.com, read this website, look up the official website of the Australian Royal Commission. Truth has nothing to fear from enquiry, whereas those who would tell you not to research your beliefs, as Watchtower often does, are trying to hide something.

@bek
Your argument could easily be applied to any religion on earth today. Look at all the good the Catholic Church does in setting up homeless shelters and orphanages. In fact, if you want to look at philanthropy in general, there are dozens upon dozens of organizations that do much more good work than Watchtower. So what is this good that it accomplishes which you feel justifies its bad works?

You would benefit by considering the effects of cognitive dissonance. This psychological defense mechanism occurs when someone has invested so much time into a cause, only to experience great disappointment. In order to avoid the pain of disappointment they begin to find reasons to justify their organization’s behavior such as great external work or proselytizing, ignoring the glaring deficiencies. This psychological mechanism is very common in cult membership.

my daughter was dfd,because she committed fornication once & was privately reproved,& a year later she committed the same sin again. She tol dthe elders on her own,she was repentant. Apparently the elders read her heart & disagreed. She had 2 young children at the time,they are now grown.She went back so that I as her mother could talk to her.I could not leave my daughter like that.Ive been gone for over 8years now& have never regretted it.Someone let me know when these supposed men of God actually read hearts. By the way these loving brothers have never contacted her in person or by phone,she has never changed her phone #.

March 23rd 2016 memorial of christ’s death and the Lord’s Evening Meal. Thats strange how Barley or the first fruits are not ripe enough for the waive offering for Sunday Nisan 16 until April. Hmmm. Why? Simple.

2016 is a leap year on the Ancient Hebrew Calendar. Every 3rd year was a leap year for the Jews in the 1st Century. They inserted an extra month between Adar and Nisan when the Passover of Thursday evening / Friday Nisan 14 and the Waiive offering (Grain Offering), of Nisan 16 gets too close to the Spring Equinox of March 22nd.

This year’s March 23 EQINOX Lord’s Evening Meal is the reason Pope Gregory introduced the Gregorian Calendar. Even he and his Most Illustruous Lord Theologeon realized Easter must never co-incide with the Equinox! Why did the Faithful and Discrete Slave not realize this very basic point if they have Jehovah’s Holy Spirit? As this was a leap year, Adar II would have been inserted to pull the calendar back into alignment with the Solar seasonal cycle with the First Fruits, so Nisan 14 this year in 2016, should have been held on April 22nd in Australia, as Australia must be after New York and not before. The reason for this is because in the 1st Century, the date line did not pass through the centre of the Pacific but through the middle of Jerusalem. Nisan was the first month of their religious ecclesiastical year not the Jewish Civil Year. It is a date important to Jehovah God not men.

The corrected date in the Eastern Hemisphere must fall behind Jerusalem then Europe, then the UK, then the American Continent followed by Tahiti, Fiji, and Australia so on and so forth meaning the memorial is a lunar event not a Gregorian date. Our dates are determined by Grenwich Meantime so that being the case, Australia falls on the next date after Hawaii, as the earth rotates from East to West crossing the International Date Line.

We celebrated the Lord’s Evening Meal when it ought to have remembered two dsys prior to the Grain Offering of Sunday Nisan 16. Simple really, just use mathematics based on the sigting of the 1st Crescent of the Biblical New Moon from Jerusalem which is about 2 days after the Astronomical New Moon. Just do the math Its easy really.

Its like calculating the dates from Nisan 14 of 1513 BCE to determine the year and date of Adam’s creation and guess what! 1975 was not the 6,000th anniversary of Adam’s creation. Nothing like it. Those genuises only got it wrong by 154 years. Minor miscalculation really. Too funny. Read my book.

Dear friend,
It is a shame so much progress has been made toward the light that must grow brighter as the day draws near so it, saddens me to see Jehovah’s people join with Babylon the Great and Christendom in particular, to remember the memorial on the Equinox. Our most important event in the year, was unbelievably held in the same week as Easter, on March 23rd as did main stream orthodox Christendom, who also got the date wrong by an amazing one month. As God’s people, we are supposed to know better, because we are the authority with the truth so it is imperative we get the right night for the memorial. I must ask, how did such a disasterous error of judgement be allowed to become screaming proof, hijackers have usurped the Governing Body and committed a mutiny here? It is clear proof there is a huge problem so like a canary in the coal mine, the shocking error of discernment in deciding to hold the memorial, right on the Equinox, was erroneous at least. It was not sound judgement, especially as we know enough about the waive offering, the festival of weeks and Pentecost to let that happen. We have known for years Australian brothers were celebrating the memorial ahead of Jerusalem and New York had always troubled me, but at least we remained instep with the world wide brother hood for theocratic order sake. However to actually hold the memorial one entire month too early was disasterous. Disaterous because with everything else that is going wrong, it is a very concerning development. Apparently those in control do not have God’s spirit. The spirit isn’t just grieved it is very annoyed, adjitated at the presumptousness of those who have taken over our once beauriful brotherhood.

When did this mutiny take place within the Governing Body? I do not know who has committed this apostacy but its not anointed brothers behind it. A new solution is needed for the sake of the anointed ones who have recieved crucial insights of the Holy Spirit so if the Governing Body are disobedient, as far as the memorial night is concerned, we will be left with no alternative but obey Paul’s admonition to turn away from those who evidently ‘have a form of Godly Devotion but prove false to its power’. 2 Timothy 3:4,5.

We see lives being destroyed, families ruined, the organization is facing 100s of billions in litigation from the result of peodophilia, and other past errors such as the 1975 fiasco asserting itself again now that we know 1975 was not the end of 6,000 years of human history. There are too many potential triggers for litigation when indicators are everywhere that long term damage has been inflicted on too many people.

The light must get brighter and we need to let that roll out as it should, but we have run out of time. With so many 100s of thousands who have been seriously wronged by bullies who have taken over the congregations of God. Sadly the organization has been compromised by apostates who have slipped in as Jude said happened at verse 4 and 12, where those guys could be likened to ‘rocks hidden below water in your love feasts, while they feast with you, shepherds that feed themselves without fear. . . having died twice. Fruitless trees Jude said, ‘ uprooted’. What Jude was alluding to there was the second death but those ravenous wolves have no realization yet of the position they are now in. Friday night 12th August after sunset in Jerusalem until sunset Saturday was the 9th of Av. Otherwise known as Tisha B’Av 9, it has been a judgement day of Jehovah in accord with Zephaniah 1:14-18 to 2:1-2 Jehovah has handed down numerous sentences over the ages and carried a number of them out such as the destruction of both temples of Jehovah in both 607 BCE and in 70 CE on Tisha B’Av 9. Beware. This is a fact many have overlooked.

May Jehovah continue to be with the love you possess for his name and let your love for righteousness abound as we rid our organization of bullies and those who practice what is explicitly forbidden at Reveltstion 21:8. While ever we are in this system of things there will continue to be a tiny minority of those who will never submit to what is right but there has been a tragic over reaction to the imperfect human condition. Jesus did not come for those who do not need a doctor but came for those who are sick, the depressed, the repressed and ailing “I want mercy not sacrifice” he said.

Mercy may not be available for those ravenous wolves who have not treated the flock of God in their care with kindness. As Jude said, “too bad for them”.
Jehovah by means of his son Christ Jesus will clean his house out and remove the head from off the dragon in his own due time. The flowers will no longer be crushed by those tyrants who pretend to be brothers but are only superfine apostles lacking love.

Patrick Meier, what kind of harm are you speaking of here and what does it have to do with “egoistic agenda”?

When you say that “it is Jehovah’s people” how can you prove that the Watchtower organization has actually been appointed by Jehovah to be his only spokesman to mankind today and in what year did that happen?

If the Watchtower Organization has been appointed by Jehovah to be his spokesman to mankind, then why didn’t Jehovah provide the new light about the overlapping generation to the Governing Body BEFORE the generation of 1914 died out?

I agree Caroline. Deut. 18:20-22 makes it crystal clear: “But the prophet who dares to speak a message in My name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods—that prophet must die.’ You may say to yourself, ‘How can we recognize a message the Lord has not spoken?’ When a prophet speaks in the Lord’s name, and the message does not come true or is not fulfilled, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.”

They have proven themselves to be false prophets 10 times over. How can any rational person simply explain this scripture away if they take an honest look at the organization’s history?

The scripture says that such a prophet is deserving of death. With the financial troubles looming for watchtower, we may be seeing the beginnings of her death throes.

Covert Fade-
You are a coward. Come out of your lair and give us your name. Get yourself out there and quit hiding behind your pen. Start going door to door and expose these dangerous people. Give your loyal readers your real name with a photo. Come out of that musty closet. Have fun doing whatever you felt restricted from doing as a Jw. And whoever your moles are, tell them to come out of their mole holes and identify themselves. If you act like a snake, talk like a snake, and slither like a snake…. You are a snake! Oh., and I believe snakes eat moles. Just desserts! Pun absolutely intended. I’ve got it! Call yourself DORIAN GRAY.

Why should the WT have to worry about moles at all. Apparently they have nothing to hide because they have the exclusive protection of some ‘god’ and are totally transparent in what they do because everything they say is the absolute truth. No need for a high powered legal dept then?
When you have WT lawyers in court fighting AGAINST abused children instead of protecting and shielding them….has Satan has taken up residence in the WT? Seven Headed Beast, Seven GB members?

Naomi, I will ask you the same thing Covert Fade asked you about shunning?

I read the book “Gentile Times Reconsidered” and because I emailed to my cousin (long time Witness) and told her about that book, she hasn’t had anything to do with me ever since and all I did was tell her about the book that I had read. I didn’t even tell her what it said!

If you know anything about the brother/elder/pioneer, that wrote that book I don’t know how you could agree with Watchtower for disfellowshipping him like they did, because he spent years researching whether or not Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 B.C.E. or 586/587 and when he discovered that Jerusalem was actually destroyed in 586/587 B.C.E. (17 different sources), Watchtower told him not to talk about it to anybody but he did tell different ones and because he went against their orders and told different ones in the circuit, they disfellowshipped him.

How do you feel about Watchtower now?

How much would you love being a JW if Watchtower did that to you when you were trying to help them in all good conscience?

@Caroline, I had a similar type of thing with my cousin. I asked her, if we are being taught by Jehovah, then who is to blame for the sudden new understanding of Jesus illustrations? (It was a few years ago now.) Why is Jehovah playing with our minds like this? She said I better watch out cos it seems I am talking like an apostate. Wow! Just from a logical question like that.

She shuns me now. She’s very worried about her faith. And I am still a witness. So, a witness shunning a witness.